Comments on: List of Superhero Cliches, Tropes, and Conventionshttp://www.superheronation.com/2011/12/18/cliches-in-superhero-stories/
How to write a superhero book, comic book or superhero novel and get it publishedThu, 17 Jan 2019 02:17:47 +0000hourly1https://wordpress.org/?v=4.5.3By: B. McKenziehttp://www.superheronation.com/2011/12/18/cliches-in-superhero-stories/#comment-2528109
Sat, 15 Dec 2018 17:43:10 +0000http://www.superheronation.com/?p=11518#comment-2528109“A thunderstorm was heading for the Northwest United States. Dark, ominous clouds inhabited the sky, blotting out the sun. In the metropolis of Crescent City, the rain was the least of their problems.” I’d suggest going back to the drawing board on this. A more character-oriented approach might help.
]]>By: Cameronhttp://www.superheronation.com/2011/12/18/cliches-in-superhero-stories/#comment-2518655
Sun, 02 Dec 2018 23:33:52 +0000http://www.superheronation.com/?p=11518#comment-2518655Hello. I have an idea for a superhero story, and I was wondering if you could approve of it. This is the opening paragraph:

A thunderstorm was heading for the Northwest United States. Dark, ominous clouds inhabited the sky, blotting out the sun. In the metropolis of Crescent City, the rain was the least of their problems.

]]>By: B. McKenziehttp://www.superheronation.com/2011/12/18/cliches-in-superhero-stories/#comment-2382555
Tue, 29 May 2018 03:59:22 +0000http://www.superheronation.com/?p=11518#comment-2382555VK, I think a lot of your points have already been addressed. For example…

Ekimmak: “is this a list of things you really shouldn’t do…”
Article author (me): For the most part, no. It’ll give you some ways in which you might differentiate your story, though.
]]>By: Valantis Katsinishttp://www.superheronation.com/2011/12/18/cliches-in-superhero-stories/#comment-2381120
Sat, 26 May 2018 13:37:01 +0000http://www.superheronation.com/?p=11518#comment-2381120So you telling us you the writer of the article that good or badcliches and simple generic good plots are awful stuff and the super heroes or villains should never become super heroes or villains and they should never fight and defeat each other with punches and kickses and other forms and ways of fighting but only with their mind and fictional criminals like joker(whom I love him and he is one of my favourite villains) should ver be killed for blowing schools with children and killing innocent people and they should be surrendered to the police and stay alive when those innocents kids, animals and peoplethat they have been killed and they are dead!!!! Look you are hypocrites and all this “Joker is a human being and no matter what he did even if he slaughtered millions of children he should be imprisoned only but not get killed cause it’s against the law” is total bullshit and it shouldh’t be like that, Joker killed innocent children and animals he should get killed right away brutally in cold blood or be burned down in agony!!!! As for the generic and simple gopd or bad cliches life and the whole multiverse that we live in real life even ourselves the people are the most fucking good and bad simple and generic and complicated as fuck to the limit in a very good and bad way!!!! Get used to good and bad cliches!!!! Do not seek the perfect anywhere in everyone and everything cause there is not everything and everyone and everywhere in every way perfect!!!!!
]]>By: B. McKenziehttp://www.superheronation.com/2011/12/18/cliches-in-superhero-stories/#comment-2313266
Wed, 15 Nov 2017 18:53:21 +0000http://www.superheronation.com/?p=11518#comment-2313266“the hero loses their powers for a(n) issue/episode, and the “hero-turns-bad-and-loses-their-standing-in-the-community” episode. I have to admit that i never watch those episodes anymore.” If you’re watching episodic shows where most of the episodes don’t need to be watched in sequence, you’re probably going to encounter a LOT of formula one-off episodes that let the writers burn a week and will never be mentioned again in-show. If you’re writing for an adult audience, I’d suggest focusing on shows that have relatively sequential episodes, because they generally can handle more prolonged plot arcs that give writers more flexibility to develop characters and plots over time rather than, say, 10+ unconnected episodes where a criminal/monster attacks without anything actually happening or changing besides who got caught this week.

Some other examples of one-off formula episodes:
–Holiday episodes
–Temporary power theft and/or someone that wasn’t superpowered to begin with temporarily gains powers.
–Character contemplates some major change to the status quo (e.g. a job in another city) but ultimately decides against it Because Family (“Family” being a code for “actually our tax credits aren’t transferable to another city” or “we actually still need this character”).
–Coma and/or amnesia and/or temporary personality shift — convenient ways to temporarily remove characters that aren’t needed right now or make some radical short-term changes without long-term changes.
–Characters meeting longtime role models (frequently voiced by Adam West), either to help them handle the reemergence of a long-lost enemy or show how much they’ve grown and/or the role model hasn’t.
–Very Special Episodes (sermons on some social issue, usually gun control or racism).
–Heroes falsely accused of some major crime.
–Nefarious political candidate threatens to win major office.
–Hostage situation
–Mind control and/or body-stealing
–Funerals and weddings — extremely formulaic, down to the lame-ass eulogy and how the wedding gets interrupted. (Also, usually not as much impact on the characters involved as you would think, particularly in cases where it’s a Superman-style fake funeral).
–Mario Is Missing and/or Off Playing Tennis Or Something, Get In Here Side-Characters.
–Shrinking
–Alien invasion
–Someone leaves the group or the group splits up — counterintuitively, whatever caused the departure probably won’t be mentioned again or otherwise used.
–Ripping off the plot of any recent or major blockbuster (e.g. Lois and Clark had very thinly veiled takes on Die Hard, Groundhog Day, and several others)

…

Most of these could actually be workable if given more time to develop than 1-2 episodes. E.g. Jessica Jones’ Kilgrave (a mind-controlling serial killer) would probably make a pretty forgettable villain of the week, but as a season-long villain I thought he was terrifying and unpredictable and a supernaturally good fit for the show’s tone and style. Among other things, using a villain over a season gives you a lot more opportunities to have him/her win victories that actually matter, whereas a villain that’s around for just a week has very little room to surprise us (e.g. he will have a minor victory towards the start of the episode or at least fight the heroes to a draw but then lose towards the end of the episode when it actually matters).

…

Alternately, Gotham’s handling of Bullock (being forced into) leaving the group is one of the best things I’ve seen on network television in a long time. A relatively clean/professional cop asks a mostly-retired gangster for help taking down an active crime network, and is unpleasantly surprised to receive a promotion to replace Captain Bullock, a friend who has repeatedly saved his life who is unwillingly working for the crime network. Clean cop to gangster: Accepting my friend’s position would be a betrayal. Gangster: “You asked for a gangster’s assistance, and this is what it looks like.” This is so much better than “Harvey left because he’s a hothead, but came back at the end of the episode because Family”. (Or the earlier plotline where Jim Gordon leaves the force to become a private investigator). Separately, along with Game of Thrones and secondarily Breaking Bad it’s the only show I’ve seen with (occasionally) interesting power-brokering/plotting/machinations/negotiating.

…

“the ‘hero-turns-bad-and-loses-their-standing-in-the-community’ episode… I never watch those episodes anymore.” I’d also recommend checking out Gotham’s execution here. Detective Gordon creates conflict with the rest of the police force (largely corrupt and/or not brave enough to get in the way) whenever he insists on doing the right thing. He’s a threat to everybody’s career and a status quo that a lot of people are okay with. It also has some more conventional execution when Gordon pursues cases in a rougher manner than his boss (Barnes) can accept and, even then, I think the interaction between the two is much more interesting than most variations of Boy Scouts-and-antiheroes.

]]>By: Michael sean Pollardhttp://www.superheronation.com/2011/12/18/cliches-in-superhero-stories/#comment-2313038
Wed, 15 Nov 2017 01:44:04 +0000http://www.superheronation.com/?p=11518#comment-2313038Holy hell. I cannot believe that this compilation has neglected my (and, incidentally everyone I’ve ever spoken to’s 2 least favorite) cliches: the hero loses their powers for a(n) issue/episode, and the “hero-turns-bad-and-loses-their-standing-in-the-community” episode. I have to admit that i never watch those episodes anymore.
]]>By: BlackWidowFanhttp://www.superheronation.com/2011/12/18/cliches-in-superhero-stories/#comment-2273191
Fri, 07 Jul 2017 20:56:59 +0000http://www.superheronation.com/?p=11518#comment-2273191I love that you mentioned Houston. One of my heroines lives in Houston( although she came from Germany)
]]>By: Ozzyhttp://www.superheronation.com/2011/12/18/cliches-in-superhero-stories/#comment-2102451
Mon, 27 Jun 2016 21:26:02 +0000http://www.superheronation.com/?p=11518#comment-2102451Oh. I didn’t plan on a sitcom vibe, so I’ll make sure to watch out for that. I was thinking a full crowd of random people having superpowers would make it easier, since it’s harder for the characters to figure out who’s who. And there can be background characters doing mundane things with their powers. Thanks for the help!!
]]>By: B. McKenziehttp://www.superheronation.com/2011/12/18/cliches-in-superhero-stories/#comment-2102167
Mon, 27 Jun 2016 14:21:36 +0000http://www.superheronation.com/?p=11518#comment-2102167“Would it be bad if the villain and hero were roommates?” Oddly, you’re not the first to ask this year. My thinking is that any comedy generated from this setup would probably feel sitcom-ish. I think it’d be less contrived (and more dramatically promising) the more people in the background have superpowers. And/or maybe the two roommates know that the other is superpowered, although maybe not about the full extent of what they’ve been up to.

If we were talking about the only two people in the world with superpowers just randomly happening to be roommates, I’m hoping you’re going for some other payout here than “neither one knows who the other is!”, which I think would be very sitcom).
]]>By: Ozzyhttp://www.superheronation.com/2011/12/18/cliches-in-superhero-stories/#comment-2101929
Mon, 27 Jun 2016 06:50:42 +0000http://www.superheronation.com/?p=11518#comment-2101929Would it be bad if the villain and hero were roommates? they aren’t really hardcore (the villain sticks to petty crime and the hero really only does it for the stories) and they don’t know they’re doing it. I was thinking they could’ve been born with it, or maybe a full crowd was exposed to it. it’s meant more for comedy than a serious series.
]]>By: Adminhttp://www.superheronation.com/2011/12/18/cliches-in-superhero-stories/#comment-2077606
Sun, 29 May 2016 02:27:11 +0000http://www.superheronation.com/?p=11518#comment-2077606If your internet service provider has given you the same (usually unique) IP address as a banned user, your comments will not be visible to anybody else.
]]>By: Carlyhttp://www.superheronation.com/2011/12/18/cliches-in-superhero-stories/#comment-2077369
Sat, 28 May 2016 20:39:44 +0000http://www.superheronation.com/?p=11518#comment-2077369I’ve never heard of that, but I’m probably going to tighten up my first book so that it sounds better. Also, where are my other comments?
]]>By: B. McKenziehttp://www.superheronation.com/2011/12/18/cliches-in-superhero-stories/#comment-2063499
Sat, 14 May 2016 00:21:00 +0000http://www.superheronation.com/?p=11518#comment-2063499“I doubt anyone would just want to read about a dance, unless there was something interesting happening at the dance…” The Tango de la Muerte?
]]>By: B. McKenziehttp://www.superheronation.com/2011/12/18/cliches-in-superhero-stories/#comment-2059229
Sun, 08 May 2016 04:36:16 +0000http://www.superheronation.com/?p=11518#comment-2059229Are the place you live and the events you go to interesting and a good fit for the story? E.g. in my case a data analytics convention would probably be not a terribly interesting addition to a crime novel (even though it might be plausible)… If I hypothetically were writing a crime novel where an analytics convention would make sense, I’d probably take it in an unexpected direction (e.g. focusing heavily on the seedy/promiscuous/illicit side of the data analytics lifestyle).
]]>By: R.O.S I.Vhttp://www.superheronation.com/2011/12/18/cliches-in-superhero-stories/#comment-2053523
Fri, 29 Apr 2016 12:59:22 +0000http://www.superheronation.com/?p=11518#comment-2053523Thanks for the response B. Mac. It’s always great to hear your input! Yeah, I was thinking along those lines too. In my universe, my character’s powers are gifted to her by a spiritual source, (the spirit of a woman who lived a long time ago) but I explain the existence of religion as being from other people in the past who were also gifted with these powers, but used their powers to be worshiped. I’m a former Christian, so I was thinking of having Yahweh be a man who used his skill to forge a legacy and create the Judeo-Christian religion. This would apply to the Greek myths as well, along with Buddhism, Hinduism, etc. Maybe my character is at a conflict with knowing the true nature of religion (in this universe), and the millions of people who see her as a divine figure?

Also, side note, I’m thinking of having each figure throughout history be given the flying brick powers, plus one power unique to them. I won’t be sued if my character has an ability like the Green Lantern will I? Her constructs would be made of blue fire, but still relatively similar.